Ranchi: The Jharkhand high court on Friday directed the state government and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to conduct a proper study on the stretch between Rajauli and Koderma on National Highway-31 to ascertain why it gets damaged even after frequent repairs.
Hearing a PIL filed by Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan after he took suo moto cognisance of the road’s poor condition, the division bench of Dr Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad observed that the 32-km-long stretch has never been in a good state.
The bench ordered the government and NHAI to make the stretch motorable in a time-bound manner. Though the expansion of the road seems unlikely, it ought to be strengthened, the bench said.
The road construction department’s secretary, Sunil Kumar, while appearing in the case through video conferencing, said that since November 2 NHAI has been entrusted with the responsibility of repairing and maintaining the stretch.
The bench, while appreciating the department’s efforts in maintaining roads across Jharkhand properly, reminded the secretary that before NHAI took over its maintenance, the department was responsible for the upkeep of the stretch. The court said it may initiate an inquiry through an agency on the expenditure incurred for maintenance of the NH-31-stretch which has never been in a good condition.
Chief Justice Dr Ranjan, in course of the proceedings, said, “It’s not like the particular stretch has got damaged over the years. It has always been in a dilapidated condition even when I was a student and used to travel through that stretch.”
NHAI (Jharkhand division) officer Pranay Mishra, also appearing virtually in the case, informed the court that a tender has already been floated for its maintenance and a contractor has already been appointed for repairing the road. “The road will be made motorable by January 10 next year,” the official said.
The case will again be heard on January 22 next year.